A bike thief accused of
stealing very expensive prototype bikes valued at $80,000, or about €75,000,
has been arrested after he walked into a bike shop with one of the bikes and
with bolt cutters sticking out of his bag.
The robbery occurred in
Boulder, Colorado, and when a suspect walked into the Full Cycle bike shop in the
city with one of the $12,000 e-bikes, staff spotted he had bolt cutters in his
bag and called the police.
While
the man was not arrested at the shop, local officers were looking out for him
and he was detained about two hours later. The bike he had brought into the
shop – for a puncture repair – was recovered, as were the other bikes stolen in
the same robbery on March 30th.
The bikes were stolen from the Boulder headquarters of Driven, the drivetrain startup connected with component brand CeramicSpeed. The day after the robbery, the main walked into the Full Cycle store with one of the bikes – a $12,000 Specialized Levo, which is owned by Driven’s founder Jason Smith.
It
was stolen with two other bikes and kit, including prototype drivetrains.
“The guy
came in with a flat and we sold him a hand pump, then called police. He
left but the police caught up with him 2 hours later,” Full Cycle owner
Russ Chandler told BRAIN. “It was so obvious that this guy was a thief. He
even had bolt cutters in his backpack.”
After
the suspect was arrested the Specialize Levo and one of the other prototype
bikes, and selection of kit, was recovered. The other bike was found after a
member of the public saw another man with it and rang the police.
The first bike is
valued at $40,000 – a black, heavily modified Cervelo P5 triathlon bike. The
major modifications include a concept drivetrain – shaft drive, no chain – and
high end wheels.
The second bike
is valued at $30,000 and was described as black with blue accents and is a
heavily modified Canyon Lux full suspension mountain bike. The major
modifications include a concept drivetrain.
The third bike is
valued at $12,000 and was the Specialized Turbo Levo the man with the bolt
cutters brought into Full Cycle when he punctured and wanted it repaired.
